One of the most beloved cars in the world, Chitty, Chitty Bang, Bang will go on auction in Los Angeles. The 1968 star of the family movie was shipped from England to California to go beneath the hammer Sunday. The car is expected to fetch up to £1.2m and is still in running order.
The car has been kept in Stratford-upon-Avon for the past four decades by the man who looked after it during the movie, owner Pierre Picton. Over the years it has been in charity road races as well as hundreds of shows but was never on auction until now.
There were a number of cars that were made for the movie but of all of them this was the only one that was a working car. In the movie it was driven by Dick Van Dyke. Ken Adams designed and the Ford Racing Team built the car. The bonnet is polished aluminium with a hand crafted boat deck of white cedar.
The engine is a V6 Ford three-litre and the dashboard was taken out of a World War I British fighter plane. Those who know it say it is the most recognizable car in the world.
